Page 27 of Their Princess

His dark eyes traced the line of my arm up from my hand, and for a hot second, I thought he’d tell me not to touch him. He often jumped when others touched him these days, but not now.

Instead, he said, “I’m part of the MC. Patched and an officer. I should be out there rather than in here babysitting you.”

“Babysitting? Ha!” I rolled my eyes. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Entertain yourself.” He walked toward the door.

“How?”

“You have a phone.”

“Are you telling me to call the police?”

“Or your sister.” He opened the door, and I thought about dashing out.

“Don’t think about it, Addie,” he scolded as if he could read my thoughts.

“I said not to call me that.”

He exhaled. “Just settle in. It will get easier.” Then he left, closing the door behind him.

“Settle in?” I mocked to the empty room in his tone. “Like this is prison? Might as well be. I do have a fucking life sentence!” I yelled at the closed door just before flouncing back on the bed. I pulled out my cell phone, calling Caterina.

The call only rang once before Cat picked up, breathlessly saying, “Lina? Are you alive?”

I frowned. “Seriously?”

“They’re a motorcycle gang.”

“Club, Cat. And I’m with Rafe.”

“Yes, I’m sure ourunclewill keep you safe.”

I had no idea why my sister was acting this way, but she was weird sometimes. That came with being in high school. At sixteen, she was still half wallflower and half hormonal, throwing herself at men, but not the boys her age. I suspected she only did it to get a rise out of Mamà most of the time.

“What are you talking about?” I demanded.

“Nothing.” Her voice wasn’t so innocent. “So why are you calling?”

“I thought you might miss me,” I said.

“No way. I have so much privacy without you here.”

“Don’t be a bitch.”

Caterina laughed on the other end of the call. “Okay, fine. I miss you. Do you miss me?”

“Yes.”

“How much?”

“A lot.” My heart ached, and I rubbed my chest, imaging her lying beside me on the bed. I closed my eyes, ignoring the truth. She wasn’t there. This wasn’t my bedroom. And we were separated by four plus hours.

“I miss you too much,” said Cat with a huff. “Mamà has been all over me today.”

“You’re the only one she has left to boss around. She’ll back off once she gets used to the fact that I’m no longer there.”

Caterina snorted. “She wants me to make more friends. Apparently, she thinks I should have friends other than my sister and my book besties.”

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